Author: The Hub

Sunset High School is one of the first in the nation to receive a recognition for campuses that are helping end littering, improving recycling and beautifying communities. Earning the designation of a “Keep America Beautiful” school is a big honor for Sunset High School, according to Brenda Finch, executive director of Keep Dallas Beautiful. “Keep Dallas Beautiful is proud of the work Sunset High students and their facility advisers have done to be recognized as a Keep America Beautiful School,” Finch said. Sunset High School seniors Danielle Herrera, Jannet Diaz and Victor Rodriguez serve on the Keep Dallas Beautiful Youth…

The Oak Cliff Advocate is publishing a series of stories about families who, after trying other options, find the perfect fit for their children at a Dallas ISD neighborhood school. Read about how the Bryce family found Felix G. Botello Elementary to be the best place for their son Clark. “They care enough to figure out who we are as people and speak our language, whatever language that may be — physical, mental, actual language,” said Clark’s mom, Rachael Lieck Bryce. Read the entire story here. Read about the Lukas family’s choice to send their children to Lida Hooe Elementary…

Three Dallas ISD schools have received a statewide award that recognizes great work happening in school counseling programs! The Texas School Counselor Association sponsors the CREST Award, which allows counselors to demonstrate the work they do helping students. https://thehub.dallasisd.org/2018/02/05/special-week-highlights-important-work-of-school-counselors/ The Dallas ISD CREST Award recipients are: Billy Earl Dade Middle School Counselors: Norma Wright, Rhonda Woods, Edordu Nwakaego Principal: Tracie Washington Emmett Conrad High School Counselors: Brenda McCoy, Jenny Garner, Sonya Gilb, Johnny Moore, Nitzy Mosquera Principal: Temesghen Asmerom  Onesimo Hernandez Elementary Counselors: Jeffrey Todd Bingamon, Marquetta Harris Principal: Oscar Aponte  The award winners will be recognized at the Annual…

Eleventh-graders attending a Dallas ISD high school have about a month before they will take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) during the school day on Wednesday, March 7. To prepare for the exam, students may access free, personalized lessons at  satpractice.org. Dallas ISD’s investment in PSAT administrations affords students the ability to link their PSAT scores to Khan Academy and access Official SAT® Practice as early as eighth grade. A study from the class of 2017 showed that students who spent 6 hours on Official SAT® Practice gained an average of 90 points from the PSAT/NMSQT to the SAT and students…

Dallas ISD was among school districts celebrating National School Counseling Week during the week of Feb. 5-9. As part of the celebration, district counselors organized and implemented various activities on their campuses. https://thehub.dallasisd.org/2018/02/07/counseling-teams-at-seven-schools-receive-lone-star-state-awards/ The week is sponsored American School Counselor Association (ASCA) to focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within U.S. school systems and how students are different as a result of what school counselors do. National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for college and career. https://thehub.dallasisd.org/2018/02/06/three-schools-earn-statewide-counseling-award/ Juany Valdespino-Gaytán, director of…

Jack Kelanic is the district’s chief technology officer. Kelanic brings more than 20 years of technology leadership experience to his new post. His responsibilities include developing the long-range technology plan to enable digital learning for Dallas ISD students and improving technology support for schools and district business operations. Prior to his appointment to Dallas ISD, Kelanic served as the director of information technology for the city of Tacoma, where he led key initiatives such as open data and analytics, mobile government services, digital equity, and technology infrastructure modernization. He also served as the chief information systems director for the Los Angeles Unified…

Dallas ISD’s board briefings and meetings will take place at a new location beginning this month. The meetings will take place at the Dallas County Schools (DCS) Technology and Training Center, 5151 Samuell Blvd., in the conference area. Board Briefings are held the second Thursday of each month at 11:30 a.m. Regularly scheduled board meetings are held at 6:00 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month. Meetings schedule and agendas can be found here. Residents wanting to speak at regular board meetings and briefings must sign up by calling Board Services at (972) 925-3720 no later than 5 p.m. on…

Can you spell F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C? These 18 Dallas ISD students who have advanced to the County Spelling Bee sure can! The students, who were the top spellers at the districtwide spelling bee that featured 138 students from 77 schools, will compete Feb. 22 at Studio Movie Grill, 10110 W. Technology Blvd. The students will compete for a chance to win more than $50,000 in scholarships and prizes at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The top Dallas ISD spellers are: Jaime Pacheco Dallas Environmental Science Academy William Jurek Rosemont Elementary School David Cazares Dallas Environmental Science Academy Brandon Patterson Barack…

“Do leaders have moral obligations?” This was the conversation starter for one of the more than 100 Dallas ISD students who competed in the second round of the Amazing Shake Competition on Feb. 2. The competition focuses on life skills such as a firm handshake, eye-contact, and back-and-forth communication. Volunteers from Dallas ISD and local leaders and businesses participated as judges. The above video has more information on the great event.

It was another great week across the district in Dallas ISD! Watch this video, or read below, to learn more. Winter Blitz More than 2,000 students participated in Winter Blitz, a Destination Imagination workshop that encouraged the creative spirit (watch this). Aspen Challenge Teams of Dallas ISD students attended the Aspen Challenge Kick Off and heard from leaders who are tackling current national challenges (watch this). Going for gold Olympic gold medalist and Skyline High School grad Michael Johnson talked with students at his alma mater and presented a check from Muscle Milk to the school’s athletic program (watch this). NFL retirees read…